Gary Neville took aim at Marcus Rashford after Tottenham’s early opener against Manchester United, blasting the forward’s ‘rubbish’ play prior to the goal.
The Red Devils – looking to get back to winning ways after a disappointing goalless draw at Crystal Palace last time out – went behind just three minutes into this afternoon’s contest and were booed off the field at half-time.
Brennan Johnson got his name on the scoresheet but the goal was all about Micky van de Ven’s scything run in the build-up, with the Dutch centre-back robbing Rashford of possession before bursting through United’s defence with an incredible turn of pace.
After beating fellow countryman Matthijs de Ligt, Van de Ven put the ball on a plate for an unmarked Johnson at the back post and the Welshman made no mistake from close range to break the deadlock.
‘Absolutely brilliant from Van de Ven. One of the best runs I’ve ever seen from a centre-back,’ Neville said on Sky Sports’ commentary of the Premier League clash.
‘Van de Ven just steps in and this is absolutely incredible.
‘He drives through four Manchester United players and the cross, well it’s just wonderful.’
The former United and England right-back blasted Rashford for clumsily giving away possession before criticising De Ligt for his lacklustre defending to allow Van de Ven to get a cross away.
‘I mean Rashford there… he just carries on running, rubbish from him,’ Neville added.
‘There’s enough players back to be able to stop him but he’s unstoppable. De Ligt starts off running too late and he completely misreads the pace of the Spurs centre-back.
‘It’s amazing. Absolutely brilliant and devastating from Van de Ven and Spurs. He [Johnson] is smiling before he puts it in the net.’
United’s afternoon went from bad to worse as club captain Bruno Fernandes was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on James Maddison in the 42nd minute.
‘It just sums up Manchester United in this first half and, to be fair, they’ve veen an absolute disgrace,’ Neville added.
‘It’s one of the worst performances I’ve seen in Erik ten Hag’s time at United and that’s saying something.
‘It’s really bad and he will not be able to believe what he’s watching in that first half.
‘I’m not talking about patterns of play here, I’m talking about application towards a football match.’
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